Get Traught
by Sobiha326
Summary: I FULLY INTEND TO FINISH THIS STORY JUST NOT THIS VERSION. IF U WANT TO FOLLOW MY CURRENT PROJECT, IT IS "Get Traught Version 2". I AM STARTING OVER BECAUSE I WROTE MYSELF INTO A CORNER IN THIS VERSION AMD IN RETROSPECT, I DID SOME RATHER POOR WRITING IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE STORY. VERSION 2 WILL NOT UPDATE REGULARLY OR ON ANY KIND OF SCHEDULE DUE TO IRL STUFF.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. It's been a super long time. To those fans of Duty VS Love, I took it off fanfiction for now. I want to rewrite it at some point and I will let you know once I do. To fans of my Who Was Dick Grayson Before He Was Robin story, that story is honestly horribly written and outdated. That being said, the premise will be used in a future fic. Now on to current business. I recently read Drowned Wings by SParkie96 and really wanted to use the idea for my own fic, so here we are. I suggest you go read that story before you read this one, it is very well written. I am rusty so I hope you guys can bear with me while I get my groove back. All lore required to understand this story is on my profile. That being said, it isn't that hard to follow.**

 **I own nothing**

 **Dis-** -aster

Dick was in his Nightwing uniform and waiting in an abandoned warehouse in Bludhaven. He was looking at an old picture of him and his girlfriend Artemis. She and Dick had been dating for almost three years now and he still hadn't told her that he was Nightwing. Suddenly the realization started to hit him. He may never get the chance now.

"We'll laugh about this someday." Dick whispered to himself.

If something went wrong and one of them died while she was undercover, she would find out that Dick was Nightwing, but neither of them would be laughing about it. A small sound within the warehouse caught his attention. Dick shut off his wrist computer.

"Waly?" he called out in a whisper.

"No." Kaldur answered as he stepped out from the darkness.

Wally and Zatanna then entered followed by a hooded woman. The woman removed her hood to reveal Artemis.

"I take it our ruse was successful?" Kaldur asked.

"Almost too successful. The team and the league are in mourning. They may never forgive us." Nightwing replied.

"And still only we five know the secret?" Kaldur asked.

"This secret and the other. That you've been under deep cover within Manta's organization since leaving the team. How'd it go on that end?" Nightwing asked.

"Successful as well. I have proven my loyalty to my biological father. He is moving me up the ladder and bringing me closer to the Light and its partner." Kaldur answered.

"Not without cost Kaldur. The comsat wasn't supposed to be destroyed, and Lag'ann definitely wasn't supposed to be captured." Nightwing replied.

"It was the only way to save his life and maintain my cover." Aqualad said with guilt edging his voice.

"I'm not blaming you. I know you've been forced to make impossible decisions like choosing to save the Kronotaens on Malina Island.." Nightwing started

"Or saving my friends." Kaldur finished the statement for him and continued. "And I will find a way to help Lag'ann. You have my word."

"So what happens now?" Artemis asked standing beside Zatanna.

Nightwing gestured to Zatanna who responded by putting a necklace on Artemis.

"This is a glamor charm. It uses a physiomorphic spell to change your appearance." Zatanna explained.

"She looks exactly the same babe." Wally retorted.

"To the five of us and only us, but to anyone else you're an entirely different person." Nightwing explained.

"It's time." Kaldur informed them.

Nightwing, Zatanna, and Wally watched from the roof of the warehouse as Artemis and Kaldur boarded one of Manta's ships.

"We're through the hard part. They're in." Zatanna commented.

"Who are you kidding. It only gets more dangerous from here." Nightwing retorted.

Nightwing was on his way back to his apartment when he suddenly got the feeling he was being followed. He quickly changed course and stopped when he reached the roof of an old building in an abandoned part of the city.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Nightwing yelled to the darkness.

"Simple. I want you to tell me where you got the idea that I'm an idiot that can be easily fooled." Black Manta replied stepping out where Nightwing could see him.

Nightwing tensed. Just how much did Manta know? Before Nightwing could reply however, a bullet pierced his shoulder causing him to stumble forward. Before he could regain his balance, Harley nailed him in the head with her hammer causing him to fall to the ground on his stomach. Joker quickly put handcuffs on Nightwing and dug his foot into the nineteen year old's back so he couldn't get up. Now that he couldn't fight back, Deathstroke, Black Manta, and Harley Quinn stood in front of Nightwing. Nightwing glared at all of them.

"Now here's what's going to happen. You're going to come with me. If Kaldur'am wants to keep you safe, he will do as I say. If he doesn't do what I want, I will let these three have there way with you." Manta informed Nightwing.

Nightwing tensed and then Joker knocked him out by hitting him hard in the head with a crowbar.

 **So that's the first chapter. I hope you liked it. Please review and let me know what you guys think. You can find Drowned Wings in my favorite stories list on my profile. It is finals week for me, so at the latest, I will update by Thursday, but hopefully I will update earlier than that.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. This next chapter is mostly going to be set up, but don't worry. That M rating is there for a reason. Will get into all that fun stuff in later chapters. Six follows and three faves so far. That makes me so excited. I'm gonna make a point of replying to all reviews of the previous chapters that are up by the time I start writing the next chapter. So far there has only been one review for chapter one.**

 **SParkie96: Super glad you like it so far. I decided to bring in other characters to torture Dick because to me, Black Manta kinda gave off a vibe like Cobra that he's above certain tactics. Cobra doesn't like to "get his hands dirty" by fighting. To me Manta totally gave that vibe of being too good for torture. He will allow, facilitate, and even watch it, but won't take part in it.**

 **I have big plans for the next chapter, so I'm not going to give myself a deadline. I will post chapter three when I feel I did it justice.**

 **I still own nothing.**

The Predicament

"So, do we let the kids know we have their bird?" Joker asked.

"No. The longer they spin their wheels looking for clues, the longer we get to have him." Manta answered the clown casting a glance at their unconscious captive.

"So do we let them figure out he's missing by themselves, or do we give them a little hint?" Harley asked.

Deathstroke didn't say anything. Instead he walked over to Nightwing, forced Joker off the teen and flipped him over so he was lying on his back. He used his sharp hunting knife to cut off the utility belt. He then removed Nightwing's boots, gloves, and earpiece along with any other weapons, tracking devices, and communicators that were hidden in his suit.

"Let's get moving." He stated once he was done as he activated one of the tracking devices he had just removed.

"Agreed." Manta replied.

The four villains then went to the docks and boarded one of Manta's ships. They locked Nightwing up in the cell right next to La'gaan. Nightwing was still unconscious and La'gaan did nothing but watch as Deathstroke secured Nightwing with the manacles that were hanging from the top of the cell. Once the villains were gone, La'gaan looked at Nightwing.

"Boss!" He yelled at Nightwing.

Nightwing snapped awake at the sound of La'gaan's voice.

"La'gaan?" Nightwing asked. His sight was a little hazy and he was still a little groggy from being knocked out.

"Yeah, it's me. How did they catch you. Aren't you bats supposed to be invincible or something?" La'gaan asked.

"We're good La'gaan, but not invincible. We make mistakes and are completely human unlike most of the members of the team who are either not human or have some kind of superpower." Nightwing corrected while looking around to asses his current predicament.

Nightwing frowned when he realized there was no way he was getting out of this by himself.

 **Transition**

"Everyone report to the briefing room!" Mal ordered over the cave's intercom.

"What's up Mal?" Bumble Bee asked her boyfriend when she and the others arrived.

"I'm picking up one of Nightwing's emergency beacons." Mal answered.

Everyone's eyes went wide. Most were under the impression that, despite being completely human, the bats were untouchable. That went double for Nightwing who some of them could swear, if they didn't know any better, had superpowers.

"What?" Batgirl shouted.

"Where is the real question." Robin corrected, but he was also worried about his brother.

"It's coming from Bludhaven." Mal informed them.

They didn't waist anytime. Batgirl, Robin, Wondergirl, and Miss Martian all raced to Bludhaven in the bioship. When they arrived at the coordinates Mal gave them, Batgirl and Robin's hearts sank at the sight of their comrade's gear lying on the rooftop with their fellow bat nowhere in sight. Miss Martian tried to reach their leader telepathically, but it was no use. Robin and Batgirl both lost control and dropped to their knees crying. Wondergirl hugged Robin and Miss Martian tried to comfort Batgirl.

"I can't lose him." Robin cried as Wondergirl held him.

"We'll find him." Wondergirl assured Robin.

"He's out of telepathic rang and there are no clues to indicate who took him. How are we going to find him?" Batgirl sobbed.

"I don't know, but we will. We should inform Wally and Zatanna once we get back to the cave." Miss Martian suggested.

The four returned to the cave and Mal contacted Wally.

"Hey Mal, what's up?" Wally asked. He did his best to sound sad about Artemis's "death".

"Nightwing's been captured." Mal informed him.

"By who?" Wally asked. There was no pretending this time. He was worried and upset.

"We don't know. Robin and Batgirl didn't find any clues as to who took him." Mal informed him.

"Whoever it was though is smart. They removed all his hidden weapons, lock picks, communicators, and tracking devices as well as his utility belt, gloves, and boots." Batgirl managed to say. She recovered quicker from the shock than Robin who was still shaken at the thought of losing his big brother.

"Zatanna and I will arrive shortly. We'll help you as long as it takes to find Nightwing and La'gaan."

 **Transition**

"What's wrong Babe?" Zatanna asked seeing the worry in Wally's eyes.

"Someone took Nightwing. We need to go back to the team." Wally replied.

"Didn't he say you were supposed to lead the team if something happened to him while Artemis was undercover?" Zatanna asked.

"Yeah. We need to go now." Wally answered.

Within minutes both were on their way to the cave. When they arrived they were stunned at the sight of Robin still crying in Wondergirl's arms. Zatanna went to help comfort the young bird while Wally went to talk to Mal.

"Nightwing left orders for you to be in charge." Mal informed the speedster.

"Alright. What do I need to know?" Wally asked.

"There's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know." Mal answered.

"We should all get some rest. It's been a long day." Wally ordered the team.

They all obeyed and went to their rooms. Zatanna stayed behind to talk to her boyfriend. She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You can do this babe. Nightwing has faith in you and so do I." She assured him.

"I know babe." He replied pulling her into a hug.

The two kissed and then left the mission room to get some sleep.

 **Transition**

"Kaldur'ahm, Tigress, follow me. I have something to show you." Manta informed them.

The three walked down the halls of Manta's sub. Kaldur and Artemis couldn't talk without arousing suspicion, so they followed Manta in silence. It didn't take long for the three to reach the vessel's prison. Most of the cells were empty save for two at the very end of the facility. One held Lag'aan while another held a bound Nightwing.

"You know these cuffs are kinda unecessary since Deathstroke took away all my possible means of escape." Nightwing growled at Manta as he approached.

Kaldur and Artemis had to fight to hide the surprise and dread that they felt at seeing their leader captive. This was not part of the plan.

"They serve a dual purpose Nightwing. Not only do they make sure there is no possible way you can escape, they also hold you in a position that, I would imagine, makes you a very good punching bag." Manta replied smiling. This earned him a bat-glare from his captive.

"Why had you not informed me that I was to capture Nightwing?" Kaldur asked.

"That wasn't one of your objectives, but then again, neither was killing Artemis or capturing the Atlantean which I congratulated you on earlier. Those congratulations were indeed sincere my son, but it appears that your loyalties are divided." Manta answered.

"Boss, your suspicion of your son is completely misplaced." Tigress stepped forward defending her partner.

"Why is that Tigress, or should I call you Artemis?" Manta asked her.

All of the hero's eyes went wide, except for Nightwing who had already figured out that Manta knew the truth about Artemis. Lag'aan looked like he was ready to pummel someone while Artemis and Kaldur just stood there like deer in headlights. They couldn't hide their shock. Nightwing acted quickly. He now knew what Manta knew. Now all he needed to do was gain control of the situation.

"That freak can't be Artemis." Nightwing growled.

This caught everyone's attention. All eyes turned to the bound bird. All were confused and surprised.

"And why is that?" Manta asked.

"It was because I was fighting her on the beach that I couldn't save Artemis from Kaldur'ahm." Nightwing spat. He used Kaldur's full name to convey the betrayal and hatred he was pretending to feel.

Manta and Lag'aan were both staring a Nightwing. Artemis and Kaldur exchanged a glance. They had to play along with Nightwing's play in order to fool Manta into thinking Artemis was dead. Manta wasn't fooled by the ploy, but he admired the boy's effort. Tigress was a name known among several notorious mercenaries, but Manta himself had never met Tigress before her sudden appearance after Artemis's death. To the nemesis of Aquaman, that was too much of a coincidence. He decided to put his theory to the test.

"If she's not Artemis, then she will have no qualms with killing your little friend then." Manta stated walking over to La'gaan's cell and opened the door allowing Tigress to enter.

"What about the agreement with our partner to give them the Atlantean?" Kaldur asked Manta.

"That is of little concern to me. If all proving your loyalties costs is a lecture from the Light, I will gladly pay that cost." Manta replied

Artemis was fighting with herself. She didn't want to kill La'gaan, but if she didn't she and Kaldur would be exposed and who knows what would happen to them if their lies were revealed. Nightwing sensed Artemis's distress. It took only a second for him to decide what to do.

"Don't do it Artemis. You'll regret it for the rest of your life. I can't let Lag'aan die and you go down that path just to keep the mission going." Nightwing nearly screamed the words that confirmed Manta's suspicions.

Artemis stopped and turned to him with widened eyes. She was scared and relieved. Kaldur was stunned and at a loss for words. Lag'aan glared at him.

"So, you knew the whole time Artemis wasn't dead, and that she was Tigress. This means that you planned this whole charade. Impressive. That being said, your great plan didn't include a contingency for me finding out the truth. That was a deadly oversight." Manta gloated now staring right into Nightwing's masked blue eyes.

Nightwing stared back at him. He hated to admit it, but Manta was right. He now had an advantage over them.

"You could have proven all this without bringing Nightwing here." Artemis yelled.

"Yes, but then I wouldn't have any insurance. You see the Atlantean is going to be delivered to our partner tomorrow. So I needed a hostage the Light and their partner were unaware of to ensure your loyalty. Here's my deal. If you two want to keep your leader in one piece, you will do whatever I ask. You will not enjoy the consequences of disobedience." Manta lectured glaring at the archer.

Artemis looked at Kaldur who met her worried eyes with his own. Both then looked to Nightwing. He had a bat-glare fixed on Manta.

"Artemis, Kaldur, don't listen to anything he says." Nightwing ordered.

"But what about you?" Kaldur asked.

"I'd rather die than see you two go down a path you can't come back from." Nightwing stated.

"I will give you two hours to decide what you will do." Manta stated and left the facility.

 **That was super hard to write guys, but I hope you like it. Please review. The more feed back I get, the better the chapters will be cause I can reference them to see what you guys do and don't like. Please keep it to constructive criticism and compliments only.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. Four favorites and twelve follows so far. That is amazing to me. The two comments for chapter two were both complimenting how good the chapter was.**

 **Canoyessenia555: I am so glad you like it so far hopefully I can keep this up.**

 **Alright, time to get to the story.**

 **I own nothing.**

Consequences and Coping

The two hours that Manta had given Kaldur and Artemis to decide were almost up. After Nightwing's initial outburst, the entire two hours had consisted of Lag'aan yelling at Nightwing for coming up with the plan in the first place and Artemis defending Nightwing's plan. Now the four heroes only had a few minutes before Manta would return expecting Kaldur and Artemis's answer.

"How could you have planned something like this. Despite you being captured obviously not being in the plan, It's still messed up. You lied to everyone and told them Kaldur was a traitor and arranged for Artemis to "die" just so you could figure out who the Light's new partner is. That is completely messed up." Lag'aan shouted at Nightwing.

Nightwing didn't acknowledge him. He wasn't bothered by the verbal abuse, honestly he thought he deserved it, but no amount of Lag'aan yelling at him was going to change their current situation or help Kaldur and Artemis decide what to do.

"Lag'aan, enough." Kaldur shouted at his fellow Atlantean.

Kaldur and Nightwing had been completely silent the whole time Lag'aan and Artemis were arguing. Nightwing spent most of the time trying to figure out what to say to convince Kaldur and Artemis not to obey Manta. Kaldur on the other hand had been mentally preparing himself for the choice he was soon to make. Now Kaldur had finally spoken up causing all eyes to fall on him. Lag'aan and Artemis still steaming with anger while Nightwing had a look of guilt in his eyes.

"Both Artemis and myself consented to Nightwing's plan. We could have said no. He gave us every opportunity to back down, but we went through with it. We said yes, Lag'aan. Some of the blame for our current predicament falls on both of us as well for going along with the plan." Kaldur nearly yelled at Lag'aan, but managed to hold himself back.

"He's right. In any case, our time should have been spent discussing whether or not Kaldur and I should obey Manta. We have no idea what he's going to do to Nightwing if we say no, but if we say yes, we could go too far and never be able to come back." Artemis laid out the dilemma before the other three heroes.

"The answer is simple. Don't take his deal." Nightwing stated bluntly.

All eyes now turned to Nightwing again. He had been eerily calm this whole time. Also the little amount of emotion he showed saying that they shouldn't listen to Manta, which will probably cost Nightwing his life, concerned the other three heroes. Artemis was about to counter when Manta walked in. All eyes turned to the villain. He wasn't alone. A trooper was following him pushing a containment pod. Manta opened Lag'aan's cell and was about to put him in the pod, but before he did, he stopped short. He kept a firm grip on his captive and turned to Kaldur and Artemis.

"Have you made your decision?" He asked staring into his son's eyes.

"I..." Kaldur started, but stopped instantly how could he be responsible for making such a choice. One resulted in his and Artemis's freedom to return to the team but at the cost of Nightwing's life. The other resulted in Nightwing's life being spared while they surrendered any chance they had to return to the team. It was a near impossible choice.

"We still haven't decided." Artemis answered for him.

Manta sighed, and after forcing Lag'aan into the pod, ordered the trooper to deliver Lag'aan to the Light's partner.

"I told you to have an answer ready in two hours. Did I not. I warned you that the consequences for disobedience would be severe." Manta yelled at Kaldur and Artemis after the trooper left the room.

Manta pushed a button on his wrist. It was only two minutes later that Deathstroke, Harley, and Joker entered the room. Artemis and Kaldur's eyes widened, while Nightwing shot his captors a batglare. Manta grabbed hold of Kaldur so he couldn't move and Joker and Harley did the same to Artemis. Deathstroke then entered Nightwing's cell and glared at the boy while circling him. The first thing the mercenary did was cut off the top of Nightwing's uniform leaving his chest and back exposed and revealing all the scars of his past encounters with Deathstroke and The Joker. He then walked away from the bound bird and went over to a table at the far end of the room. Artemis and Kaldur exchanged a worried look and then returned their gazes to their captive friend. Deathstroke reappeared in front of Nightwing holding a brand of the letter S and a blowtorch. Nightwing just rolled his eyes as Deathstroke started to heat up the brand. Artemis glared at Deathstroke with anger while Kaldur stared at Nightwing with a worried look.

"Is he always this calm before he gets tortured?" Manta asked.

He knew Nightwing was strong, but he had hoped to see that, despite his reputation, the former Robin was afraid of something. This caused all eyes to fix on him. Manta met all their eyes. The other villains in the room looked at him as if he were crazy while Kaldur and Artemis looked like they wanted to punch him in the face. It was Nightwing that surprised the man. Nightwing just looked at him with a smirk on his face.

"If you think Bird Boy is afraid of torture, you're in for a surprise." Harley quipped.

"He always has been a hard nut to crack." Deathstroke said still heating the brand.

"Which makes it all the more fun to hear him sing." Joker commented.

Nightwing remained silent earning worried glances from Kaldur and Artemis. They started to examine their friend's chest and take note of all his scars. Several "Joker"s carved into his skin along with several S brands being the most notable along with scars from the many times both villains had cut him with knives and swords. There were many scars from bullet wounds as well. They exchanged a look. Just how many times has this kind of thing happened to him? That was all they could think about as their attention returned to the bird as Deathstroke walked up to him and pressed the heated metal against his bare skin. Nightwing didn't cry out, but he did wince. It would take a lot more that a simple brand to make him break and he knew that Deathstroke, Joker, and Harley knew that first hand. When Deathstroke finally pulled the brand away from Nightwing's skin, it left a bright read S over the faded one that was already on his chest. Before Deathstroke did anything else, he looked over at Manta.

"I will ask you once more, will you obey me or not?" Manta asked Kaldur.

Kaldur glanced to Artemis and then to Nightwing before lowering his head. He really had no Idea what to do. His head snapped up when he heard the sound of someone slamming into the wall of the cage. What he saw was Deathstroke with is back against the wall of the cage and a grin on Nightwing's face. He looked at Artemis who had a look of awe on her face while all the villains just looked angry and annoyed except for Joker who started laughing.

"We really do have to do something about that stubbornness of yours." Deathstroke stated glaring at Nightwing who was still smiling.

Deathstroke again left the cell this time, he returned with a sledgehammer. Artemis and Kaldur's eyes widened with fear and worry for their friend while the villains all had a gleam in their eyes. Nightwing just shot Deathstroke a batglare. Deathstroke paused for a moment and then went and handed the hammer to Harley. Harley entered the cell and Deathstroke took her previous place next to Artemis. Harley brought the hammer down hard on Nightwing's left knee earning a satisfying crack from the bones and gasp of pain from her captive. She brought it down on his right knee with the same results. Harley then put the hammer back on the table and replaced Joker who retrieved a knife and salt shaker from the table. He entered the caged and carved Joker into Nightwing's chest over the scars of a previous torture session. Again all Nightwing did was wince and gasp. Joker frowned when he finished. Then he undid Nighwing's restraints and let the bird fall. He didn't land that hard as he wasn't too high off the ground, but the forced pressure on his broken legs caused Nightwing to hiss and pain and fall forward landing on his hands as he instinctively used them to break is fall. Joker kicked him hard in the side and flipped Nightwing onto his back. Nightwing glared as Joker poured salt into the cuts that ran across his chest. Nightwing couldn't hold it in. He screamed and writhed in pain. Kaldur and Artemis watched with worry and guilt in their eyes while the villains smiled at the clown's accomplishment. The Joker just stood there watching him and swaying back and forth as if listening to music.

"Was that so hard Bird Boy?" Joker asked when Nightwing stopped screaming and began panting.

"Stop. We will cooperate." Kaldur said calmly with guilt in his voice.

"No." Nightwing gasped out still trying to regain himself.

"Kaldur's right. We have no choice Nightwing. I'm sorry." Artemis said hanging her head in surrender.

Manta smiled and led Kaldur back to his room. Deathstroke took Artemis to her room. Joker and Harley locked Nightwing's cell before heading to their room.

 **Transition**

Wally stood in the briefing room going over the last details of his plan with Zatanna. The two had been discussing their next move for a long time. They had finally decided that, since there were no clues as to Nightwing's whereabouts, they should focus on finding Lag'aan. They knew he was taken by Kaldur as a necessary measure to keep his cover, but they had no way to know where Manta was hiding out. They had been exchanging information with Aquaman who was actively searching for Kaldur and Lag'aan. They hadn't heard anything from Kaldur or Artemis on the inside either, but that was expected as the two undercover heroes had all but admitted there would be almost no communication between them and the other three in on the plan. Wally and Zatanna finally turned off the computer. As much as he hated to admit it, they were stuck and had no clue what to do.

 **Transition**

With Batman in space and Nightwing missing, Batgirl and Robin patrolled Gotham alone. It was all they could do to keep their minds off their missing teammate. Nothing noteworthy happened and they returned to the batcave and talked with Alfred who was also trying to cope with Nightwing's disappearance.

 **Transition**

A lone figure patrolled Buldhaven. The man stopped at the location of Nightwing's abduction. He removed his scarlet helmet revealing black hair and a domino mask. He examined the whole area and found something that caught his eye. It was a small piece of paper lying a fair distance away from the scene. "Dick must of dropped it when he realized he wasn't going to escape." Jason thought. He picked it up and read it.

"Jason, If you're reading this, something has gone wrong. I know you won't go to the team, batfamily, or league, but I still can't tell you everything about my plans. But know that I do have a contingency in place. You know that our private comms are on a frequency that the league, team, and batfamily can't access. You should be able to trace the frequency. That being said, there is a possibility that whoever has me has removed all my comms and other devices that could be used to track me. You've probably already narrowed down the suspects from that. Protecting Bludhaven is your first priority; however, If you do manage to figure out who has me, feel free to come knocking. Finding me without any of my gear could be difficult, but I know you have your methods and sources from the days before I brought you back from the line you crossed. I'm not condoning killing, but I wouldn't be a bat if I didn't condone harsh interrogations. I have no doubt you will find me and protect Bludhaven well in the meantime. That being said, if I die, know that you should go back to the family. Don't try to go it alone. Bruce, Alfred, and Barbra would be happy to have you back and Tim would love to meet his big brother. Love, Dick."

Jason nearly cried at the end of the note. He quickly stopped himself and started going over the whole scene with a fine tooth come. He knew whoever took Dick would be too smart to leave anything obvious behind, but he did manage to find a bullet in a small puddle of blood. He picked it up and went to their hideout. It wasn't the batcave, but it had all the essentials. Jason removed his mask revealing his green eyes and started examining the evidence. He ran a DNA test on the blood he found on the bullet and ran several test to identify the type of bullet. The blood came up as Dick's, which was expected. The bullet turned out being from a sniper rifle. Jason's eyes widened. This meant that Deathstroke was involved. He sighed. This was not going to be easy. Jason began looking into Deathstroke's employers. One name caught his eye: Black Manta. Dick had told him that Manta was a member of the Light and Kaldur's father. He had also told him that Kaldur was the one who killed Artemis and captured Lag'aan during Dick's last mission. Jason's eyes narrowed. He had his suspect. Only problem was that he had no idea how to track down Manta, but he knew someone who did. He sighed. He hated resorting to his old tactics, but to save Dick, he would do anything.

 **I'm gonna leave it there guys. I hope it was worth the wait. I know I had a blast writing it. This is going to be the first in a series of fanfics in this AU, so keep your eyes open once this one is finished. In this AU, Jason has resurfaced as Red Hood and Batman doesn't know. Dick is able to convince Jason to become a hero again, but can't get him to return to the batfamily. Instead Jason and Dick patrol Bludhaven as partners. Almost a mirror of Dick's role as Robin before he cofounded the team. I have big plans for this story, so sorry if it's starting out slow. It will get very exciting soon. Also, don't worry. I have no intention of Jason saving Dick right away. Things are going to get extremely worse before they get better. Please review and let me know how I'm doing. I'll hopefully post the next chapter soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. I know it's been a while. Been super busy with work since the last update. Slowly, but surly, this fic is getting a nice following: 5 favorites and 16 follows. That makes me super happy. This is my first real fic in a while, so to see it get even a miniscule following makes me extremely happy. I love all the positive feedback from the reviews, but I want to stress that if there are any writing tips you more experienced authors could give me, please do. I have lots of plans for this AU. This chapter takes place before, during, and after Darkest.**

 **Warning: Character Death and Torture.**

 **Enough babbling, let's get back to the story.**

 **I own nothing.**

No Turning Back

Jason sighed. He hated this place. He hated the assassins who inhabited it. He really hated who he was there to see. He heard a slight noise and stopped short. Sneaking around the League of Shadows headquarters with no backup wasn't a good idea, but it was the only way to get in touch with his contact.

"You can come down, Jason, there's no one here to see or hear us." Talia stated.

Jason sighed and exited his hiding place. He had to admit, as much as he hated the Demon Head's Daughter, Talia was a useful contact. He knew Dick probably wouldn't approve, but he had given him permission to use his old contacts and methods, excluding killing of course.

"What do you need?" Talia asked

"I need you to help me track down Black Manta." Jason replied.

"I have a couple assassins who are tracking him down on their own already. Sportsmaster and Cheshire are tracking him down for revenge. Why are you interested in him?" She asked.

"None of your damned business!" Jason yelled.

"Fine. I assume you don't need my help tracking either of the two assassins." Talia questioned.

"They'll be easy enough to find." Jason replied.

"Be careful Jason. My soft spot for Bruce will only take you so far." Talia warned.

"I can handle myself." Jason replied.

Jason snuck out of the Shadows hideout unseen by anyone else. It took some time, but he found Sportsmaster and Cheshire in civvies at the graveyard talking about Artemis's death. Thanks to Dick, very few heroes knew about Red Hood's existence let alone his former criminal affiliation. The same could not be said of the villains however. Many knew that Red Hood, Nightwing's partner, was a former villain himself. He carefully approached the two assassins. He didn't want to provoke them.

"What do you want Hoodie?" Sportsmaster taunted.

"I want to help you two take down Manta and Aqualad." Red replied.

"Why, it's not like he killed your boss, it was my sister he killed." Cheshire quipped.

"Why not hear the boy out little girl." Sportsmaster scolded.

"I'm not telling you why, but I need to find Manta." Red replied.

"Sound's fair to me as long as you don't interfere with us." Sportsmaster stated.

"Fair enough. I really don't want to spend anymore time with you losers than I have to." Red replied.

Jason left to prepare a plan for how to get Dick out without alerting Cheshire and Sportsmaster to the truth as to why Red Hood was teaming up with them.

"Why are we bringing him along?" Chesire asked Sportsmaster.

"If things go south, we're going to need some way to distract Manta's dogs and make our escape." Her father replied.

Cheshire smirked. Hood was in far over his head, and by the time he realized it, it would be too late.

 **Transition**

"I have a new mission for you and Tigress." Manta told his son.

"What do you want?" Aqualad asked.

"I want you to capture Blue Beetle. How you do it will be up to you, but I am sending the Terror Twins, Icicle Jr., and Deathstroke with you." Manta informed him.

"Why are you sending Deathstroke? You hanging our leader's well being over our heads is more than enough to ensure our loyalty." Aqualad inquired.

"I have my reasons. Just know that his report will determine Nightwing's situation." Manta warned him.

"I shall depart with them immediately." Aqualad told him.

"One final word of warning. If, in any way, the heroes learn of Nightwing's true whereabouts, his life is forfeit." Manta cautioned.

With a final nod to his father, Kaldur went to prepare for the mission. After he informed Tigress and Deathstroke, Kaldur began making his preparations. Once everyone was ready, they departed on their mission. They found Blue Beetle with a new speedster. Aqualad knew he could use the impulsiveness of this speedster to his advantage. Tupin Terror tackled Blue Beetle out of the sky onto the ground.

"I spent 1.6 seconds on that self portrait. It was my masterpiece." The speedster whined as he readied himself for battle.

Aqualad watched from a distance holding the tracker as Deathstroke and Tigress easily took down the speedster. Now everyone's attention was on Blue Beetle as Icicle froze him.

"Blue." The speedster shouted as he vibrated out of his restraints.

"Or, since they outnumber us 6 to 2, how about we recommend tactic strategic retreat." Beetle stated.

"Totally, but first how did they find us all the way out… ah ha." The speedster stated as he spotted Aqualad.

He raced up to Kaldur's position.

"So you're Aqualad, working with the bad guys, using their alien tech to track our friend, Blue. Not crash man, not crash at all." The speedster lectured as he dodged Aqualad's strikes.

"Zoink, moded." The speedster teased as he swiped the tracker from Aqualad and ran back to Beetle's side.

"They can't follow us now, let's book." The speedster suggested.

After the two retreated, Tommy Terror confronted Aqualad.

"You let them get away with the tracking device. Now how are we gonna track Beetle?" Tommy asked Aqualad.

"As it happens." Aqualad stated.

The whole squad headed to the flyer.

"If you had another one of them gizmos, why didn't you say so?" Tommy asked Aqualad.

"It is not the same. This device confirms that the first acted as a Trojan Horse. The speedster brought it into the cave, where it remotely hacked and deactivated all internal security. Mount Justice is ours." Aqualad lectured.

 **Transition**

Wally and Zatanna were examining the device that Impulse had taken off Aqualad.

"No way Nightwing would have fallen for this." Wally stated readying himself to fight.

He turned around as Superboy was thrown into him. Wally quickly noticed that he was unconscious and had an inhibitor collar on. It didn't take long for Tommy to put a collar on Impulse. Wally finally managed to get himself out from under Superboy and stood up ready for a fight. As soon as he was up, Deathstroke forced him to the ground and put an inhibitor collar on him. Tigress took down Zatanna with little effort. Beetle was the only one not defeated by the group.

"Surrender." Aqualad ordered.

"I don't think so traitor." Blue responded.

"Then rethink, Beetle. This is the same type of bomb that obliterated Malina Island. I'm told the yield is quite impressive." Aqualad informed him as he revealed the bomb.

"We're standing down." Beetle replied as he landed.

"Escort Beetle, Beast Boy, and the new speedster to the flyer." Aqualad ordered.

"What about these three?" Tigress inquired referring to Superboy, Kid Flash, and Zatanna.

"As hostages here they have value. Zatanna is a normal human trained in sorcery and Superboy is a human, kryptonian hybrid clone. Neither category is of any interest to our partner. I also highly doubt they need two metas with the same ability." Aqualad answered.

"Perhaps not, however, there are many within the ranks of our masters that would benefit from his death. Tigress, kill him." Deathstroke motioned to Superboy.

Tigress hesitated for only a second before stabbing Superboy in the heart. Aqualad had to force himself to look as if he approved while the Terrors, Icicle, and Deathstroke had genuine smiles of approval on their faces as Tigress ended the young hero's life.

"Aqualad, you'll regret this." Wally shouted at them.

Aqualad walked over to Wally and punched him in the gut and sneaked him a flashdrive in the process.

"I believe I have outgrown the name Aqualad, as well as anything resembling regret." Aqualad stated as he walked off.

Once they were out of the cave, the Scarab deactivated Beetle's collar forcing him to attack Aqualad. This caused Aqualad to lose his grip on the dead man's switch he was holding for the bomb. Beetle rushed at him, but Aqualad countered with a mystic attack that caused Beetle to stagger and exposed his skin. Tigress used the opening to shoot him with a sedative dart that also contained a microtracker.

"I was not certain that would work, but it appears that Beetle is indeed vulnerable to mystic energy and sedatives. Bring him aboard." Aqualad ordered.

Once they were a safe distance from Mount Justice, Aqualad gave Tigress the order to blow up the cave.

 **Transition**

After Mal rescued Zatanna, Wolf, and Wally and recovered Superboy's body, the magician and speedster sat alone in the Hall of Justice. The first thing they did was review the information on the flashdrive. It contained a tracking frequency for the tracker inside Beetle's system, other intel that could be used to form a plan to save all the kidnapped team members, and the reason behind the cave's destruction. The couple was now plotting how they were going to save their friends.

 **Transition**

"Come with me." Manta ordered Aqualad once he, Tigress, and Deathstroke returned to the sub.

Aqualad and Manta stood before the other members of the Light. He didn't really pay much attention to what they were saying, but he did take note of who was present. After the meeting with the Light, Manta and Aqualad regrouped with Tigress and Deathstroke.

"Are you certain inducting Aqualad into the Light was the right choice?" Deathstroke questioned

"I've been pushing for his acceptance into the group for a long time. If I suddenly decided to go against that, the Light would discover something is wrong. Now make your report." Manta ordered.

"They did everything asked of them, and then some. That being said, Aqualad did pass something to Kid Flash during the raid." Deathstroke informed him.

"It would seem you still do not understand your situation completely. Let's go." Manta said grabbing Kaldur.

Deathstroke grabbed Tigress and the two villains escorted the heroes to Nightwing's cell. Joker and Harley were already there waiting. They had been guarding the former Boy Wonder the whole time. Deathstroke silently walked into the cell and used razor wire to restrain the teen and hang him from one of the bars on the top of his cell leaving his feet dangling a few inches off the ground. Then he raised his sword to the bound bird's throat. Nightwing just smiled. He knew this meant his friends had rebelled in at least a small way. His smile turned to a batglare as the wire cut into his wrists due to having to hold his full weight.

"What did you pass to Kid Flash?" Manta asked

"A flash drive that contains information the team can use to formulate a rescue plan to get their teammates back and my reasoning for destroying the cave." Aqualad answered.

"Did it say anything about Nightwing?" Mana inquired.

"I only mentioned Nightwing to give the impression that I was not aware of his disappearance." Aqualad answered.

"He lives, but you're message to Kid Flash will still have consequences." Manta stated.

Knowing that was his que, Deathstroke slashed Nightwing across the chest. The gash wasn't deep enough to danger his life, but Nightwing still cringed from the pain. Harley was content to wait with Manta while Joker strolled into the cell. He took out his crowbar and hit Nightwing hard in the back causing him to swing forward and the razor wire to cut deeper into his wrists. This caused him to gasp in pain. Nightwing's momentum caused him to swing towards Joker who hit him harder in the same spot as before. This repeated until a loud crack was heard. Nightwing screamed as his back broke from the string of blows to his spine and the razor wire connected with the bones in his wrists. The villains left Nightwing bound in his cell and locked it. Nightwing gasped for breath as he recovered from the pain. Aqualad watched the whole thing with guilt in his eyes while Artemis watched with anger. When the two exited the cell they both breathed a sigh of relief that it was over.

"Next time we won't go so easy on the boy." Deathstroke warned.

"We'll remember that." Artemis answered.

With that Manta, Deathstroke, Artemis, and Aqualad left the prison while Joker and Harley continued to guard their hostage.

 **Sorry this took so long guys. I only work three days next week, so I'll try to update at least twice during that time. Supermartian is my otp for Miss M, so it wasn't easy for me to kill off Conner. That being said, I really can't wait to write more chapters. I have so much to get through before the end of this thing comes. I already have the ending of this figured out too. Please review you guys. If nothing else, I need to know I'm doing well. I really want this to be a first story I can be proud of when I look back on it. I hope I'm accomplishing that.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys. Well you won't get two chapters this week, but I do have to say that we are getting close to the end. There are only three more chapters to write after this one. Nine favorites and eighteen follows so far. I love seeing those numbers go up.**

 **Goingdownwithmyships: Thank you for your review. It's awesome to know I'm hitting the feels like I'm intending too. Also prepare for more feels to come.**

 **Dratias: Thanks for setting me straight with the author's notes. Also thanks for telling me what you like about my writing style. That means a lot to me.**

 **One last thing. I know as soon as I put Jason in the story, people started expecting batfamily stuff between him and Dick. Don't worry, that is coming, but there is none of that in this chapter.**

 **Warning: Character Death**

 **I own nothing.**

Desperate Times and Desperate Measures

Aqualad was touring The Reach ship. The Reach Ambassador was showing him around. Aqualad resisted the urge to drown out the alien and listened intently to what he was saying. This alien had no idea he was giving valuable intelligence to his enemies, and Aqualad intended to take full advantage of the alien's ignorance. It wasn't hard for him to catch onto the Ambassador's explanation of the metagene that his scientist was researching.

"In other words, the metagene allows certain humans to develop superhuman abilities." Kaldur stated after the Ambassador finished his longwinded version of the explanation.

"This is the scientist in charge of all metagene research." The ambassador introduced the other alien.

"I understand you are responsible for providing several of our test subjects. Gratitude." The scientist greeted.

Aqualad started looking over the captives as the scientist lectured him about the lab's purpose of studying dormant metagenes. He stopped short at La'gaan's pod. La'gaan was the only one outside of himself and Artemis to know about Nightwing's current whereabouts. If he told the rest of the team, Nightwing would die. Kaldur, however, was not a killer. He had a hard enough time watching Artemis cut down Conner to save Nightwing. He couldn't blame the archer, but he would never allow himself to go over that line.

"La'gaan already has powers. He is Atlantean. Hardly an average human." Aqualad questioned the scientist.

"His powers are based on training in sorcery. Beyond that he is an average Atlantean is he not?" She inquired.

They moved on to another lab in which they were holding only Beast Boy and the new speedster.

"In this lab, we study humans with active metagenes to see how they deal with various levels of stress. The goal is to see if their abilities can be harvested or duplicated." The scientist informed him.

"You seek to weaponize the metagene." Aqualad replied.

"You never told me he was clever." The scientist told the ambassador.

After walking over to a third lab, only the scientist entered it. The ambassador told Kaldur that the third lab and Blue Beetle who was contained inside did not concern him or the Light. After his tour of the ship, he stood beside Tigress as Manta gave them their next set of orders.

"It is of no concern to the Light if your former team's plan to rescue the trapped heroes succeeds or not. My only stipulation is that if you intend to allow their plan to succeed, do not make it obvious to either side." Manta told them.

"Does your condition from before still stand?" Aqualad asked.

"Yes. The heroes remain in the dark or Nightwing dies." Manta confirmed.

Tigress knew instantly what she had to do, and she would use the cover of the heroes' rescue mission to do it. She then took off to the docks to oversee the shipment of new test subjects for the Reach.

 **Transition**

Robin and Batgirl easily slipped into the crowd of abductees at the docks. When questioned by a blond girl in the group, Bumble Bee flew into the pocket inside Robin's jacket.

"Nevermind." The blonde retorted.

They didn't struggle as they were led to containment pods.

"Alpha Squad, I'm heading into the enemy ship. Are you aboard." Miss Martian asked through the mindlink as she density shifted into the vessel.

"We're in some kind of docking bay. We have eyes on the new aliens aka the Kronotean's competitor aka the Light's partner. And we've got other company. It's Aqualad. If he makes us we're done." Batgirl said through the link.

"Stay calm Batgirl. He won't be looking for you and Robin. Just don't draw attention to yourselves." Zatanna replied through the link while piloting the bioship.

"I found Gar and Bart. They're unconscious but alive. No sign of Jaime or La'gaan." Miss Martian informed the group.

"We have eyes on Lagoon Boy and Shimmer plus four civilians and all the teens we came with." Batgirl replied.

After a little time had passed, the aliens left the room.

"We're unsupervised now, but Blue's still unaccounted for and escape could trigger a response. Do we wait?" Batgirl asked.

"No. Make your move before you two need rescuing as well. Same with you Meg'an. Get our boys." Zatanna replied.

At that moment, Miss Martian used telekinesis to destroy Gar and Bart's containment pods. When the tow landed on the ground, she uncloaked and went to Beast Boy's side.

"Garfield?" She called to him through the link.

"I knew you'd come for me. Are you shorter?" He asked.

Before she could even explain, Impulse took off looking for Blue Beetle.

One of Manta's troopers walked up behind Tigress.

"Hold your position trooper." Tigress ordered

Within a couple seconds she was on the ground. The other troopers attempted to assist her, but the rouge trooper moved to fast for them to hit. It wasn't long before they were on the ground too.

"Docking bay secure." Wally said into the link removing his helmet.

"Nice timing." Bumble Bee replied.

Bee had every abductee from the room were she and the bats were being held behind her. Robin and Batgirl headed for the docking bay after finishing off a few guards. Artemis regained consciousness just as all the civilians except for one got onto the bioship. Then she saw Black Beetle enter the room and start sealing it off. She made a splitsecond decision and shot an arrow straight at La'gaan. No one was expecting the shot so everyone looked on in shock as La'gaan fell to the floor bleeding. The arrow went straight through his heart ending his life instantly. After shooting La'gaan, Tigress went to find Kaldur. When she found him, Meg'an had fried his brain.

"Meg'an what did you see?" Artemis asked the Martian.

"I know where Nightwing is, but I also know what will happen to him if they find out. I'll keep quiet." Miss Martian replied.

At that moment Beast Boy shifted into a tiger and Artemis threw down a smoke pellet.

"I'll take mine. You take yours. Count yourself lucky boy." Artemis taunted.

The rest to the mission was a blur for Miss M. She barely registered Beast Boy talking to her to density shift through the door. Once she did, Black retaliated by shifting the door's density trapping her halfway through it. Kid Flash, Robin, and Bumble Bee were all down. Black was beating up Wondergirl while Batgirl was fighting Shimmer. Blue Beetle arrived with Impulse and instantly opened the door to the bioship. While Batgirl, Wondergirl, Impulse, and Beast Boy got everybody aboard the bioship, Blue fought Black.

"Everybody's on board except Blue." Wondergirl reported

Impulse tried to go back for his friend, but was pushed back into the ship by a strong current of water.

"Zatanna close the hatch. The docking bay is flooding our hull." Batgirl told the pilot.

"Okay." Zatanna replied.

"But Blue?" Beast Boy questioned.

"We can't help him if we drown, or are crushed by the pressure at this depth." Batgirl lectured.

Blue Beetle was picked retrieved from the water by Miss Martian who had shifted into the same form that she used to travel outside the bioship at the beginning of the mission. Everyone could see Meg'an was in shock. Most assumed she was taking Conner and La'gaan's deaths really hard, so they left her alone. It was a quiet flight to their new base.

 **Transition**

Artemis sat at Kaldur's bedside. She couldn't believe what Meg'an had just done to him. She couldn't exactly blame her. They were pretending to be evil, and Aqualad had pretended to kill her. That being said. Meg'an's rage just made Her, Kaldur, and Nightwing's situation worse than it already was. Luckily, without Aqualad to keep in line, Manta ensured Nightwing would be safe from torture until his son was back to normal. She sighed. There was only one person who could save Aqualad. She knew that sooner or later, she would be sent to capture Meg'an. She went to her room and fell asleep crying. She cried Nightwing, Dick, Kaldur, and Meg'an. She cried for Conner and La'gaan. She couldn't stand what she had become through all of this, so, for the first time since her childhood, she cried herself to sleep.

 **I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Before you call Bull on La'gaan's death, I'm basically going with the idea that the arrow she shot at him was specially designed to take down an Atlantean. With three chapters left, I'm going to make sure I don't give myself a definite deadline as I to most of my best work when I'm not under pressure and can improvise most of it. That being said, if I start to go too long without updating, go ahead and pm me and I will update within a week of receiving that pm. P.S. Just heard Fallen Angel by Three Days Grace for the first time and instantly thought of this AU Dick/Artemis.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys. This chapter has been a long time coming, but I think I finally figured out a trick to get me in the writing mood. So we will see how this works out. This chapter takes place during and after The Fix. The batfamily stuff between Dick and Jason will be in the next chapter. Thirteen faves and 22 follows. That is awesome.**

 **Canoyesseina555: The last chapter will have traught stuff in it.**

 **I own nothing.**

Last Resort

"We can't employ Simon to fix Kaldur's mind due to the possibility of the Light discovering the whole thing. We only have one choice. Take Tigress to the surface and capture the Martian. We will force her to cure Kaldur and then we will kill her before she can warn the heroes of Nightwing's whereabouts." Manta ordered Deathstroke.

"How do we know she hasn't already told?" Deathstroke asked.

"Tigress told me that the witch promised not to tell the heroes." Manta replied.

"Alright. We should be there and back fairly quickly." Deathstroke replied.

Deathstroke went to Kaldur's room where Tigress was sitting at the side of his bed.

"You're coming to help me capture the Martian." Deathstroke informed her.

Tigress sighed and got up. She followed the mercenary to the flier and they both boarded. The ride was mostly Artemis trying to figure out how many more of her friends and teammates she would have to kill before this was over. She promised that no matter how bad things got, that she would be the only one coming out of this with blood on her hands. She wouldn't let Kaldur sink to that level.

 **Transition**

Miss Martian's eyes glowed green as she probed Green Beetle's mind. Hurting Kaldur like she did had shaken her a bit, but knowing that not reading into the newcomer could potentially invite danger to more of her friends, she readily read into the Martian beetle. Her eyes stopped glowing and she turned to Kid Flash.

"What did you see?" Wally asked her.

"Green Beetle is on the side of the Light and the Reach. Who are trying to enslave the worlds populace and weaponize, what they call, the metagene." Meg'aan answered.

At this Green Beetle reacted quickly. He began attacking the team. He was doing well until Blue Beetle intervened. Eventually the heroes were able to subdue Green Beetle.

"So, what do we do with him and the intel?" Blue asked.

"We'll pass both along to the league, but since the league's credibility is low right now, they cannot reveal anything to the public." Wally answered.

Everyone went their separate ways after that. Megan exited the Chicago zeta tube and was ambushed by Tigress and Deathstroke. Since there were no heroes to put on a show for, Meg'ann went with them without much fuss. They did allow her to tell her team that she was in trouble. After she told the team, she went with Deathstroke and Tigress who delivered her to Manta. Manta put an inhibitor collar on the Martian and bound her to a chair.

"You will repair what you have done to my son, or you will die." Manta warned.

After Manta and Deathstroke left the room, Meg'aan looked at Kaldur.

"I don't know what to do. Fixing his mind may not even be possible, and even if it is, my presence may be viewed as another attack." Miss M told Artemis.

"Take me with you then." Artemis told her.

Megan nodded and her eyes glowed as she made contact with Kaldur's mind. Upon entering Kaldur's mind, Artemis thought the water they were in was real and began to drown.

"Your not underwater. This isn't real, but if you allow the illusions to hurt you here, your mind could suffer real and permanent damage." Miss Martian yelled.

"It's all in my head, or rather Kaldur's very messed up head." Artemis repeated.

"He views his mind as Atlantis in ruins. I don't even know where to start." Miss Martian stated.

At that moment an illusion of Tula began attacking Artemis and Meg'aan. Though Megan blamed her self for Kaldur's current state, she didn't allow that to hinder her.

"We need to find Kaldur. I can't fix his mind without his help." Megan told Artemis.

Artemis found Kaldur sitting alone mumbling in Atlantean. A black hole appeared and began to suck Kaldur in. Artemis grabbed hold of his hand.

"Megan and I are here to help you. Symbiose, together we can save you." Artemis told him.

She was able to get Kaldur away from the black hole and take him to Megan.

"Kaldur, I'm sorry. Help me help you." She cried.

Kaldur and Megan began piecing together his mind, and Artemis exited. Black Manta came into the room just in that moment.

"Are you making progress?" Manta asked.

"Yes, but this will take weeks or months before he's back to normal." Megan answered.

Satisfied with the answer Manta exited the room and went to his quarters. Deathstroke was monitoring Miss M from the flier. Harley and Joker were guarding Nightwing.

 **I know this chapter is short, but I changed several cannon events that would have made the chapter longer. Nightwing got a break the last two chapters, but next chapter, things are going to heat up again. I am officially making this fic T cause there is nothing M worthy yet, and I doubt there is going to be in the next two chapters.**

 **Please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys. Been a bit since I posted the last chapter of this. Since then the Faves and Follows now number 17 and 27 respectively. This chapter coincides with Complications. When I brought Jason in, it became unavoidable to do a chapter with batfamily feels between Jason and Dick. Since I don't have any experience with fluff and one-shots, I'm going to use his chapter to further the story and hopefully bring out the feels.**

 **I own nothing**

Priorities

Miss Martian sat at the side of Kaldur's bed while Artemis stood behind her. Kaldur laid in bed faking a coma. All three were connected with a mindlink Miss Martian had set up.

"We know Manta intends to kill me the second he knows Kaldur is better." Miss Martian stated.

"Which is why we must continue to keep him in the dark till we can find a way to save you and Nightwing." Artemis reasoned.

"If we're trying to come up with an escape plan, shouldn't we have Nightwing in the loop?" Miss Martian asked.

"No." Aqualad replied.

Miss Martian remained silent. Aqualad had been the team leader prior to this whole gig, and her actions had just put him and Artemis in more danger than they already were. The least she could do was give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I just thought of something." Artemis practically yelled into the link.

"What?" Kaldur asked.

"Nightwing is our best strategist, right?" She asked.

"Yes, but I do not understand what you are getting at." He replied.

"What kind of master strategist doesn't have a back up plan for every possible scenario?" She asked.

"You think that while getting captured wasn't part of Nightwing's original plan, he has a plan in place to get himself out of it." Aqualad deduced.

"Exactly. Maybe someone outside the original five who came up with the plan is searching for him." Artemis replied.

"If that's the case, we need to take advantage of it. I can use my psychic abilities on the crew so that Artemis can get to Nightwing and back without anyone knowing, but she will only have a few minutes with him." Miss Martian stated.

"What if we pass him a flashdrive with information the team can use?" Aqualad inquired.

"If Megan can give me an opening, I can download information from the main computer and get it to Nightwing, and get back here within 15 minutes." Artemis replied.

"I can only give you 15 minutes, so don't spend too long getting the data or talking to Nightwing." Megan replied.

"Got it." Artemis said.

With that Megan's eyes glowed green and she began going through the minds of the whole crew. Artemis left the room and went to the main computer. She plugged in the flashdrive and began downloading all the intel she thought the team could use to plan their next attack.

 **Transition**

Red Hood was with Sportsmaster and Cheshire. They were waiting for Manta's sub to pass so they could board. Once it did come, they boarded without incident. Red Hood was instantly aware of the lack of guards in there area.

"Hood. I don't care why you're here, but lets get this straight. Manta is mine and when it comes time to get out, we won't be waiting up for you." Sportsmaster warned.

"Trust me. I'm clear on the conditions of me tagging along." Hood replied.

With that the two assassins and Hood parted ways. Hood searched for Nightwing while Sportsmaster and Cheshire hunted Black Manta and Aqualad respectively. Traveling through the ship Hood was instanly aware of something not right with the crew. He ignored it and lost himself in the vents. It didn't take him long to get to the ship's prison. As he got closer to the cells at the end of the complex, he heard voices.

"What are you doing here?" Nightwing's voice.

"I'm sure you have a backup plan, so in case it works, I'm giving you this for the team." A female's voice.

"They will get it." Nightwing replied.

With that the voices stopped and Jason heard the woman leave. He then exited his hiding place.

"You knew I was there." Jason stated.

"The whole time, but out of respect for your desire to stay out of team business, I decided not to call you out while Artemis was in the room." Nightwing replied.

"Kaldur's a double agent." Jason reasoned.

"Yes. I'm guessing you didn't come here alone." Nightwing replied.

"Yes and no. Sportsmaster is hunting Manta and Cheshire is gunning for Kaldur. They helped me get here, but they have no idea why I'm here." Jason informed him.

"You need to take the flashdrive Artemis snuck into my pocket and get it to Wally and Zatanna." Dick ordered.

"No. I'm getting you out of here." Jason said as he undid Nightwing's restraints.

"Jason, listen to me. In my current condition, I'm nothing but dead weight. Even if you do get me out, that will reveal the reason for you being here to Lawrence and Jade. Not to mention that with me gone, Manta has no reason to not go after another member of the team, or just kill both Artemis and Kaldur." Dick lectured.

"Dick, you can't seriously expect me to leave you behind." Jason said.

In reply, Dick moved his arms and took off Jason's helmet. Then he removed both his own mask and Jason's. Dick's blue eyes met Jason's green ones. For a moment, both just stayed still staring into each other's eyes, but then Dick's eyes became deadly serious and Jason's went wide.

"Leave me behind and get the flashdrive to the team. If you don't any good that could possibly come out of this scenario is lost." Dick ordered.

Jason stared at his brother's serious eyes. Dick was legendarily stubborn and smart even for a bat. He knew Dick was right. Jason closed his eyes for a moment. Then he put Dick's and his own masks back on. After putting on his helmet he stood up. He knew what Dick was going to say next.

"You have to take the flashdrive, redo my restraints, lock the door, save Kaldur, and get Miss Martian out of here." Nightwing ordered.

Jason hated it, but he did as ordered. He knew he had to make it look like no one had been near Nightwing. He cringed with every hiss of pain Nightwing made as he redid his brother's restraints. After he was certain Nightwing looked exactly as he did when he had found him, Hood took the flashdrive and left, locking the door behind him. Not long after losing himself in the vents again he found Sportsmaster and Cheshire fighting Joker, Harley, Manta, and Deathstroke. He completely ignored the battle and continued his search. He finally found Kaldur's room. He took out the trooper in the room as he exited the vents. He landed on his feet with Artemis holding her sword to his neck.

"Easy Artemis. It is you isn't it?" Hood said.

"You are Nightwing's backup plan." Kaldur stated.

"Yes. He gave me the flashdrive and told me to get Meg'ann out of here." Hood replied.

"You have to know Nightwing to know my real name. How are we getting out?" Miss Martian replied.

"First thing's first." Hood stated as he removed Miss M's collar.

"We need to get Sportsmaster and Cheshire to leave without killing Kaldur and Manta." Hood informed her.

"I have an idea, but they need to be away from enemies." Miss Martian replied.

"That's easy enough." Hood replied.

"I'm coming with you. My father is stubborn and won't leave unless he knows for sure I'm alive." Artemis insisted.

"Your father, your call. Now lets move." Hood replied.

He led Miss M and Artemis to where Sportsmaster and Cheshire were fighting the villains.

"I'll hold the villains attention while you work your magic on Sportsmaster and Cheshire." Hood told them.

Without another word, he exited his hiding spot and started fighting the villains. Miss Martian used her telekinesis to move Sportsmaster and Chesire to another room. There she used her telepathic abilities to connect the three of them with Aqualad and Artemis.

"What gives you the right to take his memory from my childhood with Artemis?" Cheshire demanded.

"Jade, this is my memory." Artemis corrected.

"Aqualad only pretended to kill Artemis so she could join his undercover mission as Tigress." Miss Martian revealed as she showed them the memories from that proved it.

"How do we know this isn't some illusion?" Sportsmaster countered.

"I figured you'd say that dad. Release us Miss M. I'll convince them." Artemis told her.

With that Miss M released the mind link and Artemis began fighting both her sister and father. She used moves she knew they would recognize as hers. After fighting for a bit, both Cheshire and Sportsmaster were convinced.

"Fishboy dodged a bullet this time." Cheshire commented.

"I can live with you and Aqualad playing the light for chumps." Sportsmaster replied.

"Good. I need you both to leave. Miss Martian should be able to escape by herself now that she doesn't have a collar on." Artemis ordered.

With that, Cheshire and Sportsmaster headed for the exit while Artemis returned to Kaldur's room. Miss Martian used her powers to give Hood the opening he needed to reunite with her and get them both a good distance from the villains. Miss Martian and Hood watched as Sportsmaster and Cheshire made their getaway and made theirs as well.

"Now what?" Miss Martian asked once on land.

"I need to get the flashdrive to Wally." Hood replied.

"I'll take you to them. I know where they're hiding out." Meg'ann replied.

 **Transition**

Wally and Zatanna were trying to figure out a plan, but with no intel to go on, there wasn't much they could do.

"Wally, we need to talk." Meg'ann said from behind him.

Wally turned to see the Martian and smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay. What happened?" He asked.

"That's not important. What is important is him." She replied revealing Hood behind her.

"Who are you?" Zatanna asked.

"Easy. I'm on your side Zatanna." Hood replied.

"Prove it." Wally challenged.

"Wally, as much as I appreciate your caution. Time is of the essence. Kaldur and Artemis passed Dick a flashdrive. He gave it to me and told me to get it to you." Hood countered as he held up the drive.

Wally's eyes went wide. He wouldn't be able to know any of those names if he wasn't associated with the team somehow. And to know Dick's name meant at the very least that he was a close friend.

"You know where he is." Robin said from behind Hood.

"Robin, he told me to leave him behind. Believe me, I didn't want to, but you know how he gets." Hood replied.

Wally took the drive from Hood and began going over the data. The whole team began examining the intel in order to come up with a plan. If they were going to get their friends back, they were going to need to come up with an extremely good plan.

 **Please let me know how I did guys. I'm going to attempt Traught feels in the last chapter. Since the next chapter will be the last for this story, I'm going to put a poll up that I want you guys to answer. It will close after I post the last chapter. For those who don't have a fanfic account, I'll write out the poll here.**

 **Which Story should I write next?**

 **Merlin's Secrets (Merlin AU)**

 **Duty VS Love (Bakugan AU)**

 **Two Wards (The first story of another YJ AU that I want to right.)**

 **While the Get Traught AU didn't deviate too much from the original cannon, the Two Wards AU will have a lot of factors that make it different from the cannon and will contain an OC along with several characters from other DC fandoms.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. Sorry this chap took so long. First it was the fact that I had no time to sit down and write. Then I got lazy, then I suffered a huge case of writers block. I think I found a way to remedy that last thing though. I think I'm trying to stuff too much in one chapter. So I'm thinking there will be four more chapters. This one will have the planning on all sides leading up to Summit. The chapter after will have the Summit. The third will finish off season two. The final chapter will lead into the sequel I have planned for this AU. If any of those chapters feels too crowded, I'll split it up. Don't worry traught stuff will be coming up.**

 **I don't own anything**

Preparation for the Summit

Wally looked over the data on the flash drive extremely carefully. He hoped something here could be used to break up the alliance between the Light and Reach. He also hoped that there was a way to rescue Dick somewhere in the data. Beside him Zatanna was skimming over more data. Artemis was able to sneak them a lot of good intel, and it was now the job of the two who had been in on the con from the beginning to use this data to come up with a plan to accomplish at least the first goal if the second could not be accomplished. Robin had left the room at the request of the two older heroes. They knew that any plan they came up with would force them to come clean about the plan to the team, but in case of Dick's predicament becoming worse should anyone find out where he is, they didn't anyone accidentally finding out about it. To be honest, they didn't even know anything that was going on with him. The only people who knew where he was were Megan and the mysterious person she brought to the hideout with her.

Megan and Hood were in another room.

"How do you know all of our names?" She asked him.

She didn't know anything about him except that he rescued her and knew more than an outsider would about the team.

"I.. ." Hood struggled to find anything to say.

Telling her the truth was out of the question. He also knew she would be able to call him out if he tried to lie. This was the tough part. None of the heroes even knew he existed till now thanks to Dick. That being said Dick only did that because Jason hadn't been ready to come back to the team and face the batfamily at the time of the request. It had never occurred to him to take it back at any point as he didn't ever see himself encountering either of those groups. Dick on the other hand had warned him that the longer they kept him a secret, the harder it would be to explain him to the heroes.

"I'm Dick's partner in Bludhaven." Hood finally said.

It wasn't a lie, but that was the only part of the truth he was comfortable with telling right now. Megan sensed him holding back, but decided not to push. This stranger hadn't done anything but help since he turned up, so she decided to give him the benefit of a doubt.

"I never asked what we should call you." Megan stated.

"My codename is Red Hood, but Dick usually just calls me Hood. The scum tend to call me Hoodie." Hood informed her.

"Well, Hood, I never thanked you for saving me, so, thank you." Megan said.

"I wish I could've saved Dick too, but I knew he wanted me to get you out." Hood replied.

"Dick has always been one to put his wellbeing last." Megan observed.

"I know. I keep telling him that that attitude will be the death of him someday. He never listens. I shouldn't be surprised knowing how stubborn he can get." Hood said.

Hood reach behind his head and took his helmet off. His domino mask covering the green eyes that would probably give him away. He wasn't ready to reveal the whole truth yet, but he was willing to show that his guard was down around the team. Removing his helmet was his way of doing that. Megan picked up on the gesture and smiled.

"I'm glad you're comfortable around us. It would be hard to trust you if you didn't do the same to us." Megan told him.

"I know. I'm sure Dick and I will have a ton of explaining to do when we get him back, but until we do, there are things I'm not ready to tell yet." Hood replied with a frown.

He sat down and set his helmet beside him. Megan was just about to sit down when Wally and Zatanna called everyone to the control room.

"What do you have?" Hood asked when everyone arrived.

"A way to take out both the Light and Reach if we can pull this off." Wally stated.

"What's the plan?" Robin asked.

"Megan, you and the new guy know where Nightwing is. Can you get him by yourselves?" Zatanna asked.

"It wouldn't hurt to bring Robin and Batgirl along just in case." Megan said.

"Do you agree?" Wally asked.

Jason was debating that idea. He knew what Barbara was capable of from his years as Robin. The new Robin was an unknown factor, but if what Dick had told him about the boy was true, he would be a help, not a hindrance. That being said, a group of four might be too big for a stealth mission, especially if Dick isn't where they think he is. There's also the fact that the team would be sacrificing a lot of muscle from the other part of the plan if Barbra and Robin when with them.

"No, if Nightwing isn't there, you will have taken two of your best out of the main fight for no reason, and, even if he is there, more than two on a stealth mission tends to be too many." Hood replied.

"He's right Batgirl and I would be better in the main group." Robin enforced.

"Okay, now as for the plan of attack for the main group…" Wally began.

He and Zatanna went into detail on the plan with the whole team present. They figured that even if Hood and Megan wouldn't be there they should at least be aware of it.

"Is everyone clear?" Wally asked.

"Yes." The entire team said at once.

With that they all left to prepare their weapons and get rest before the plan began.

 **Transition**

"What's the plan?" Slade asked Manta.

"The boy could still be useful in keeping Artemis and Kaldur'ahm in check. That being said, at least two enemies know where he is. If we leave him here during the summit, he could be rescued easily. Bringing him with us could also have bad results as both sides would ask questions about his presence." Manta replied.

Joker laughed. "Let Harley and I watch the blue bird while you and Gunshow go to that boring meeting."

Harley smiled. "Yeah, we can hold him somewhere no one will find him."

"That's a good plan." Manta approved.

"Once you've found your base, send us the location so we know where to find you." Slade ordered.

"Of course. I don't intend to keep birdie all to myself." Joker said.

With that, the two clowns left Slade and Manta to their talk.

"Wakey, Wakey bird brain, we're going on a roadtrip." Harley taunted.

"As if I didn't see this coming." Nightwing countered.

"Even if you did, it's not like you can tell anyone." Joker informed him.

Harley opened the cell and entered. He knocked Nightwing out with one solid swing from her bat to his head. Joker undid his restraints and carried him over one shoulder.

 **Transition**

The villains moved Nightwing to a hidden base inside Gotham. Nightwing awoke to find he was in a giant bird cage and chained to the bars in a kneeling position so he couldn't even try to escape.

"This should make things interesting." He mused to himself.

Joker and Harley laughed drawing the hero's attention to them. Dick cursed himself for not taking in his surroundings entirely before saying anything. The damage, however, was already done. The clowns would now be more alert than normal for any signs of an escape or rescue attempt. Joker left the room and used the computer to send Deathstroke their location. Harley gave orders to the goons to stay inside and away from windows so no one would notice them. The heroes wouldn't look for them here if they didn't see any reason to investigate. Dick just sat back on his heels kneeling in his cage. There was nothing he could do, except hope that Jason knew Joker and Harley well enough to find him.

 **Sorry this took so long guys. I also apologize for this being a short/boring chapter, but I figure that's better than trying to fit too much stuff into a single chapter. Please review and tell people about this fic. I'll be more inclined to finish if I know there is interest in this fic if not the whole AU. Before all the Miss M fans out there go on a rant for me killing both her cannon love interests, I love her. I hated doing that to her, especially with Conner, but it was necessary for the story. I do have plans to introduce Red Hood/Miss M and possibly make it cannon in this AU. I'll have to think of a good ship name for it. Hopefully I make the couple convincing. I'm not just throwing them together. I have stuff in mind to make it legit.**

 **New poll.**

 **Which story next?**

 **Get Traught AU sequel. (Fallout of the events in this fic.)**

 **Get Traught AU prequel. (Mainly about how Dick and Jason became partners.)**

 **Get Traught AU side story. (Tackles cannon events that I skipped over in this fic.)**

 **Two Wards AU first story. (Sets up the Two Wards AU that I want to write a series for. Will have a ton of factors making it differ from the cannon and will feature an OC, characters from other DC properties, and ideas that I introduced in my original YJ fanfic that I deleted due to the poor writing quality.)**

 **Let me know which one you guys want to see in your review. All are YJ stories.**


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